Leadership: Support

Kevin Rudd’s sudden loss of his own party’s backing as Prime Minister of Australia seems to fly in the face of conventional wisdom that has ruled politics since Bill Clinton successfully stumped for U.S. president in 1992 on the back of this slogan: It’s the economy, stupid.

In the midst of the storm clouds that have surrounded the global economy during the “Great Recession,” the Australian economy has been a ray of light.

Australia never fell into recession. Rudd was widely credited for successfully steering the nation through the credit crisis, thanks in no small part to its commodities-rich trade with China and other emerging economies.

As recently as six months ago, CNN’s Stan Grant reports, Rudd enjoyed record approval ratings for a sitting prime minister.

What happened?

Two major culprits, both of which have a deep impact on business in Australia: The failure of his emissions trading proposal – which would have introduced tougher cap and trade policies for industrial polluters – and a 40 percent “supertax” planned on mining companies.

A once passionate advocate of reducing global emissions, his softening on the issue upset his environmental base. His support of mining taxes, naturally, upset the nation’s powerful mining interests (at the close of trading in New York, shares of both Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton were up more than 2 percent on the news of a possible leadership shakeup).

Rudd’s inability to steer these two measures created doubt within his own Labor Party that he could successfully lead them to victory in upcoming elections.

Moreover, it appears Rudd alienated the supporters closest too him, who saw him as controlling and mercurial in his leadership style.

Which goes to show that its not always “the economy, stupid,” when it comes to politics. Instead it appears Rudd forgot that other maxim of politics, coined by former U.S. Speaker of the House Thomas “Tip” O’Neill: All politics is local.

It’s a lesson for executives, too: If you don’t have the support of those around you, you don’t have any support at all.

Monkey Business

ONCE a monkey has gotten hold of food in its hand, it is close to impossible to get the primate to let it go. And this makes trapping it easy for monkey catchers.

In Malaysia, a villager developed the ingenious “Monkey Trap” by burying a coconut and drilling a narrow hole big enough for a monkey’s hand to go through. He would place pieces of fruit, nuts or meat on skewers in the coconut. The odour and smell of the treats attracts monkeys to reach into the narrow opening and grab hold of the treats. As the monkey attempts to extract the treats, it finds that its fistful of food will not fit through the narrow opening.

The monkey will scream in frustration as he continues to hold on to his food and attempts to remove his hand from the coconut. The villager comes over and drops a net over the monkey. Even though the monkey sees the villager approaching, so intent is it on keeping the food that it grips the morsels even tighter and tries even harder to dislodge its fist.

Nothing is keeping that monkey captive except the force of its own attachment. All it has to do to escape is let go of the food. But so strong is the force of greed that it is a rare monkey which can let go.

Aren’t many business leaders just like monkeys? We may laugh at the monkey for its stupidity but every day we see similar foolishness displayed by many business leaders who struggle with letting go. Like monkeys, many leaders fail when they hold on too tightly to something that leads them astray.

We simply can’t let go of products, services and practices that worked in the past which contribute little today but require significant amounts of our time and attention. Or we struggle to let go of our ego and pride. And some business leaders simply can’t let go of their business and stay on in their roles way past their expiry date.

But the phenomenon is not limited to business leaders. Many people are traumatically bonded and cling on to bad relationships even though they know better. Or we can’t let go of a bad habit. Worse still, many hold on to old beliefs and dogma like “if it’s not broken, why fix it” and end up missing the boat when changes need to be made. Why is this?

In the case of the monkey, greed is the key reason. Greed and avarice are why executives fail to let go. And greed leads to fear.

Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi wrote: “He who considers wealth a good thing can never bear to give up his income; he who considers eminence a good thing can never bear to give up his fame. He who has a taste for power can never bear to hand over authority to others. Holding tight to these things, such men shiver with fear; should they let them go, they would pine in sorrow.”

While greed for food holds the monkey back, what holds us back? Is it our ego, power, pride or greed?

Successful business leaders struggle with letting go of their products and services that worked previously because they fear the unknown. The fear of losing the past outweighs the gain of the future. Thich Nhat Hanh, a famous Buddhist teacher, said: “People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.”

They believe if they keep going the same way, even though it may be painful now, somehow life will return to the excesses of before in the future. Albert Einstein rebuts this belief: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Each of us naturally wants to maintain status quo, sticking to the safe and comfortable. According to Edward Miller, dean of John Hopkins medical school, people won’t change even if their lives depended on it.

He studied people two years after their coronary artery bypass grafting and found 90% of them had not changed their lifestyle even though they knew they could die. They just could not change their lifestyle for whatever reason.

CEOs are supposedly the prime change agents for their companies but they are often most resistant to change.

When Louis Gerstner took over as CEO of IBM, he started by sticking to the McKinsey routine that had worked for him throughout his career – analysis paralysis and strategy. He thought he could revive the company through drills such as selling assets and cost cutting which were his comfort zones. But he was wrong and to his credit, he changed his consultant approach to a more cultural transformative one, thereby enabling IBM’s revival.

But most leaders resist change and are crippled by excuses to retain status quo. If you walk into any business and hear the following excuses, you are in a business where there are a lot of monkeys who just can’t let go:

· We’ve never done it before and it’s not possible.

· We/another company/person tried it before and it won’t work here. Our company is different.

· We’ve been doing it this way for the past 50 years.

· Why change – it’s working OK. Everything is fine here.

· Management will hate it. This company is not ready for it.

· It needs further investigation and more thought.

· Our competitors are not doing it. Why should we?

· We don’t have the money/resources/assets to do this.

· The union will scream. It’s too much trouble to change.

· Customers won’t buy it. It’s too radical a change

*Ego* - Ego is responsible for the majority of business failures. Disney, Wang Laboratories and even General Motors’ slide from glory was due to leadership ego. Even celebrity CEOs are not immune to ego issues. Steve Jobs was kicked out of the company he founded because of ego issues.

A personal example while I worked at GE is of the legendary Jack Welch, whose refusal to part with Montgomery Ward, a trouble departmental store that came to GE looking for an infusion of US$100mil to reverse the retailer’s fortunes. It wasn’t enough and the next year it came back and asked for more.

GE, faced with losing its original investment, gave the firm the additional money and then proceeded to give more the next year and the following years. To protect an initial US$100mil investment, GE eventually wasted billions. Just like the monkey who couldn’t let go, the world’s greatest CEO couldn’t let go of a black hole and later admitted it was ego that stood in the way.

Nelson Mandela quit as president of South Africa after his first term a legend. Some leaders can’t let go of their businesses and stay in the job way past their expiry date, causing the business or country to be ruined in the process.

*Outdated beliefs* - It is hard to identify even one single big business success that was achieved by following conventional wisdom. Yet many still rely on it daily.

A secretary working part-time while studying at a university in the US refused to learn the computer and only used the typewriter. She was typing 300 words a minute and believed if she kept improving her speed, her job was safe. Whilst everything around her told her to embrace the computer, her inner belief said otherwise. A year later, they fired her and replaced her with someone who typed 80 words a minute but could use the computer.

The newspaper industry globally is in decline and many blame the advent of the Internet to this decline. But researchers Michael Moore and Sean Paul Kelley believe that it is greed and the reliance on outdated wisdom that has seen the print media’s decline.

Each of us have beliefs and conventional thinking stifling our progress.

Take time and re-examine your beliefs and remove and replace the ones that don’t work. Businesses need to do this often too.

In life, there are many things that we have to learn to let go. We have to let go of situations, things, memories, attachment to people and even ourselves. It can be very painful when it’s time to let go.

Letting go is similar to crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward. Letting go can be one of the scariest experiences in your life but only by boldly taking a leap of faith into the unknown can you truly be the leader you were meant to be.

So, this weekend, why not reflect and learn to “let go” of something that is holding you back from greatness. Remember, every exit is an entry to somewhere else.

Think of it this way: you’re on a hiking trip and along the way you keep picking up heavy objects, things that don’t really help you get up the hill. After a while, these objects begin to slow you down and unless you get rid of them, you’ll never complete your trip. So, let them go.

Leadership: Good Boss Turned Bad

As soon as the word bad boss is mentioned most people start imagining pictures of a wicked person, a crook, a tyrant, a scheming backstabbing individual, a selfish ogre, etc. And typical textbook definitions of a bad boss is one who screams, threatens, intimidates, grabs credit, fires people, throttles people’s necks and so on.

While this could be true in some cases, it is not so in a large percentage of cases. Actually it is not necessary to be a wicked person at all to be called a bad boss. Ironically, a good natured or normal person can also fall under the category of a bad boss without exhibiting the standard boorish behaviors.

Here are a few common mistakes good people do to slowly transform themselves into bad bosses.

Lack of Knowledge: A good person can become a manager of a department for various reasons, but may have no knowledge necessary to run the department. Often many employees get promoted to stratospheric levels too fast, but without the required knowledge, maturity or skills to run a bunch of diverse departments.

Avoiding learning: It is understandable that a manager cannot be expected to have an accurate knowledge from day one. To gain knowledge one must get into deep water to understand the nitty-gritties of a new department's work, irrespective of their earlier experience. And no matter which department you manage there will be some amount of new learning every day to keep abreast of latest trends and happenings related to that particular industry.

Unable to shield their team: Often for many managers maintaining the status of a good and diplomatic person who will not antagonize customers and clients becomes more important than being right. So they may not be able to shield their team from hostile situations, unfair accusations or demands. They will start saying yes to every demand and put their team members in trouble or excessive workloads. Very soon team members will stop going to them for help - Jeff Rich, the CEO of ACS says, "I think the day that your people stop bringing their problems to you is the day you stop leading. They've either concluded that you don't care about their problems or that you cannot help them. And leaders have to be in a position to help.”

Distorted view: Customers and clients don't appreciate a plain exhibition of good nature. Just because a person is good, customers will not take things easily or dilute their demands. They need value for their money, solutions, answers, guidance, etc., for their problems. A good nature and lots of smiles cannot be used as a shield for delivering bad results. And if a person cannot provide that, he or she automatically becomes a bad manager.

Finally we can conclude this article with a quote from Thomas Arnold, “Real knowledge, like everything else of value, is not to be obtained easily. It must be worked for, studied for, thought for, and, more than all must be prayed for.”

Leadership: Scheming Hog

Every employee may have one grievance - an impossible or eccentric boss! They have, somehow, become common factors in grumbling employees' lives. But dealing with them is a professional necessity and it is essential to understand that although they have a common thread joining them together, there are different specialty traits to their eccentric natures.

There are as many types of human characters as there are people and bosses are no exception. Below are some techniques and strategies to deal with them so that your employment is not in danger:

Dealing with Eccentric Bosses. While dealing with bosses it is better that you know that some of the eccentric traits may have brought him to where he is now.

1. The Shouting Boss: The psychology of shouting bosses is that they can get the things done only by shouting. They don't mind shouting at anyone, anywhere. Although shouting is a sign of impatience, it is also because they want to be recognized on the spot. Satisfying their ego by listening to them calms them down. Further, executing their instructions will get them your respect.

2. The Scheming Boss: He is the most dangerous of them all, always plotting to fire one person or the other. They are highly manipulative while being extremely intelligent, highly motivated and focused. His way to the top is through firing workers which he says is benefiting the company; in reality he is worried about protecting himself and his position. Being honest and acting with extreme care is the best policy when dealing with this type of boss.

3. The Just-A-Minute Boss: He is an impatient man but not rude. He wants everything to be done on the fly. He has many things in his head while talking to you and so may be unable to grasp anything you said. The next day he may surprise you with a 'you-didn't-tell-me-this'. These types hardly complete any tasks, so be prepared for big workloads at anytime. Keeping evidence of your communications (possibly through emails), or completing the communication/task on the spot is better.

4. The Bumbling Boss: This junk head is trying to hide his inadequacies behind big talk and other diversions. Although he is rather harmless, he is neither a good leader nor an inspiring one. Just because he has reached a higher position above you, he might also get a sense of false prestige. Occasionally showing his mistakes in disguise of guarding him and guiding him is your best bet.

5. The Fear Monger: The attrition rate of this boss is high because of the fear and psychosis he creates. No one wants to continue working with him; often he fires them himself before they can quit, because he thinks fear is the only way to motivate employees to work. Changing your job, and fast, is the way to deal with him.

These are just a few of the dominant personality traits that you may find during your career. You need to be aware of them in order to preserve both your job and your sanity!

Leadership: Thorn in Your Arse

If you have worked for anytime at all, you have had the opportunity to work with a difficult boss. I have had the pleasure of working with many over my lifetime and have learned a few interesting ways to handle a difficult boss.

First, change your perspective. As long as you see your boss through your "jerk" filter, your boss will be a jerk. Let that go and see your boss as just your boss. Period. Don't make judgments or put labels on the boss. Realize that your boss just is. Shifting your perspective will help you to begin to shift the energy around how you think and respond to your boss.

Learn to manage your boss. Yes, that is right. One of the most important things one can do is manage the manager. Learn what your boss wants and doesn't want, likes and doesn't like, and how to do the kind of job your boss is looking for. I once worked for a boss that wanted a daily report on everything I did. I thought it was ridiculous, but it made my boss happy and kept him off my back. Remember that you do work for the boss and the boss is paying you, so as long as what the boss is asking for is legal, then it is your job no matter how stupid it may seem to you to do what the boss requests.

Understand that your boss is not going to change. I have worked with clients that think that if they just do their job better, faster, or more elegantly, the boss will see how valuable they are and change their evil ways. Ha, in your dreams! The boss is not going to change. If change is going to happen, it is going to be up to you. You will have to change the way you interact with your boss. Once you begin to act differently, the boss may respond differently, or not, but it will be up to you to make the change and you will be in control of your own actions and responses.

Know that it does not matter if you like your boss. You do not have to be best friends with the boss. You do, however, have to have a professional relationship. That means that you do not complain or gossip about your boss and you get your job done. I have worked with bosses that I could not stand, but they never knew it. I was polite, respectful, and did my job. It was not always easy, but it made a difficult situation tolerable.

Understand that you have a few choices here. You can stay and live with it or you can leave. You can either adapt to the situation or leave the situation. If you feel like the boss has done something illegal, you can always see a lawyer and find out what your rights are. You might also talk to someone in your Human Resource Department or the Equal Employment Opportunity person in your company. The thing to remember is that you are never powerless. Even if all you can do is control your own actions and attitudes, remember you are in control.

Document everything. Documentation will support you if you ever have to file a complaint. Keep detailed records about the interactions with your boss, the work you are doing, and anything else that may seem important. I once had a boss try to downgrade my appraisal for no other reason than his appraisal had been downgraded and he didn't want me to have a better rating than he. Because I had everything documented, I was able to fight the downgrade and won.

Documenting what you do just makes good sense. It will also help you at the end of the year when you are trying to remember everything you did. Don't expect your boss to remember; even a great boss won't. They have way too much to do. It is up to you to keep detailed records of how you are contributing to the organization.

Everyone is someone's difficult person. You may very well have a personality conflict with your boss. Ask yourself honestly how you are contributing to the relationship with your boss. It does take two to dance. Ask yourself how you are making things worse. This can be hard to look at, but can also give you some insight into your own behavior and how you can remove yourself from the drama. Sometimes, with or without realizing it, we are making the situation worse. Step back and see how you might be doing that and stop. This isn't a matter of giving up or letting the other person win. It is a matter of maintaining your sanity.

Find someone outside of your work environment to talk with. Do not talk with other people at work about what a jerk the boss is. It will get back to her or him. Find someone who can give you an unbiased opinion and help you create a strategy to manage the boss. This will help you to defuse some of your frustration and support you in creating healthy ways to handle the situation.

And remember, you have the power! Don't let anyone take it from you. Control your actions and attitudes. As long as you are in control, you are better able to manage the situation and make the best choices.

Leadership: Supervisor or Dictator

A SUPERVISOR, is a person, in charge of other people, who makes sure, that he knows what is on the minds of the people he has authority over. He knows, for a fact, that without the support of the people under him, nothing of any importance will ever be accomplished.

Even though he is in charge, he wants the willing cooperation of those he will be supervising. He knows that even the most junior person in his organization is an important part of the over all operation of what they all are trying to accomplish. He knows that if he does not take into consideration the ideas and feelings of those he has authority over, these subordinates will not be so willing to go along with his leadership. He knows that even though he in charge of operations, that his job is no more important than anybody else's job.

Everybody's job is important, no matter how lowly some jobs seem to be. If you think I am kidding you, just try to get along without janitors and garbage collectors for a while, and you will see what I am talking about.

A DICTATOR, is a person, in charge of other people, who makes sure, that the people he has authority over, know what is on HIS mind. A dictator is a person, on nothing more that an EGO TRIP. He doesn't give a damn what his subordinates think about anything except carrying out his orders regardless of their feelings, ideas, etc.

Dictators are self absorbed and are motivated primarily by self interest rather than the interest of anyone else. The only input that he wants from others would be along the lines of his own ideas, and loves to be surrounded by yes-men and yes-women.

Sooner or later, dictators are always overthrown, because the people under them, cannot forever suppressed the desire to live their own lives, to be free from a power that does not give them the freedom to be an intelligent and open contributor to the operation, to which they are a part.

The difference between the two powers above is the reason why, down through history, dictators and centrally controlled governments, eventually fail because, sooner or later, people will rise up and demand their right to be HEARD.

Leadership: Dictator

Dear Aunty May,

I thought I got the dream job when I received their offer. But now I found out that I made a big mistake. My new manager, it turned out, is an oppressive dictator. I first found that out only two days into my new job, when he got us all in a room for an impromptu meeting, to tell us: “I am the only one in this department who is authorized to take any decisions. The rest are to follow orders.” He is autocratic, belittling, impatient, and cunning. The company is a great company, but my bad luck got me under this manager. If I quit, I will never get a chance to work for this company again. If I stay, I am afraid I will not know how to deal with this guy and might end up fired anyways, as he is a trigger happy son of a gun. What do you think?

Regards,
Ahmad

Dear Ahmad,
What you are describing is an autocratic boss. They can be very unpleasant managers, and if on has a choice, he would rather not work for them. However, I understand if you cannot afford to just leave your company or move to a different department. I that case, there are some tactics that can help you maneuver around your manager, and if you are good at it, you might just be able to “upward-manage” him.

First, it is important to understand what is autocratic management and the mentality behind the autocratic manager’s behavior.

Autocratic managers follow the most classical approach to leadership. They retain as much power and decision making authority as they can. Employees on the other hand are expected to follow her orders no questions asked. Their behavior stems from holding on to old managerial myths that do not believe in or trust employees. To them, employees, if not controlled and watched carefully, will take advantage of their manager and be lazy and less productive. Employees, to these bosses, are trying to get their pay from the company without having to do any work, if they can help it. They do not care about the company and are not competent or dedicated enough to make sound decisions.

Therefore, these managers rely on threats, punishment, and coercion to control employees. They do not trust them and are not interested in their input.

First of all, remember that his style and behavior in itself is not your problem or your fault. It is actually his problem and his responsibility. One thing you do not want to do is to try to reason with them and change their ways. That is almost impossible. Not only will you waste your time, but you might jeopardize your position and provoke negative reactions from him. Rest assured somebody else has tried, and he is no longer there to tell you about it.

Do not pick up fights with this manager, especially if they do not concern you. Meaning, you do not want to get into confronting him about his behavior and work style, except when he is directly insulting or abusing you. Then, you confront and assertively stop the abuse, and show that you will not take insults from him. The key is to do this without being defensive or coming across as weak, and at the same time not becoming offensive or disrespectful. Remember you can be clear and strong without having to be vulgar or ill mannered.

Instead of confrontation, focus your efforts on your work. Understanding what results your manager expects from you and delivering on those results consistently without faltering and without getting too close or personal with this kind of manager. Keep your behavior professional and limit interactions as much as possible without jeopardizing the quality of your work.

Remember that these managers need to see results, so focus on ensuring that they see the fruits of your work, because that is primarily what they care about. Usually these kinds of managers do not have an interest in you as a person, or any of the employees for that matter. They just want to see the job gets done.

Theory X managers do not like or appreciate supporting employees. To them, that is like being asked to do baby sitting. Your needs for praise, recognition, or support, are none of their concern. They are not interested in caring for, motivating, or supporting you. Just take care of business, as they desire and you shall be saved from their wrath.

This type of managers will try to force their style and ways of working on you. If this happens, do not try to argue or prove them wrong. Instead, focus on your understanding of the desired end result they want to get, then get their consent to letting you “fine tune” their direction as the job requires, without you having to “bother” them with details, as long as you deliver the desired outcomes.

Always deliver on your promises and commitments. If they try to pressure you into committing to something you cannot achieve, then clearly state that their request is unrealistic and clearly state why. Be confident in your position. You do not want to lose credibility with this kind of manager.

If you consistently deliver, you will, over time, gain their trust and be given more room to maneuver. Once they learn to trust you, their behavior towards you will improve and they will allow you more freedom to take more decisions in your work.

Do not try to compete with this manager or try to be a shining star at the department. They will come back at you with a vengeance if you try to be popular or “steel their thunder,” so to speak. They will shoot you down quickly if you undermine them regardless of the quality of your work. Stay away from the limelight and never bad mouth the boss. Also give him credit where credit is due for your work and for the results you achieve.

All through this, remember that your manager was not born this way. Maybe he himself feels forced to act the way he acts due to upper management or market pressures. Having said that, remember also that this is not your ideal environment for growth and development, and being around negative influence for a long time will eventually get to you and might negatively influence your behavior. As soon as you can afford to, move on to somewhere with a bit more positive and healthy work environment where there is a more supportive boss.

Leadership: Lesson 101

A picture tells a thousand words